A Promise From My Heart

16.

NOORIE'S POV

I did not want to see him. I tried not to go to him again but a part of me was not just at peace. Restlessness prevented me from concentrating on anything I did. Everytime my mind drifted to him wondering about what he was doing and how he was doing. Is he okay? And I was very curious to know more about him. What could have made him end up in a psychiatric hospital? Who is he? Does he have a family?

His accent gave me a glimpse of where he might have been or where he might come from. The bushy brows, straight hair, his ivory skin with a yellow tinge, bridge of his nose as straight as a ruler, lips marked with natural pinkness, and those amber eyes, I only had one ethnicity in mind. Maybe South Asian? These questions kept playing in my mind. I wanted to know more about him.

So the next time I went to see him, I bought a jigsaw puzzle kit. His hair had been trimmed to his shoulder. The tresses were neater and had a sheen to them. It gladdened him to see me again and it gave me an alien feeling to watch him perk up. This time, he was not handcuffed to the bed.

Puzzle, I believe, is the game of the wise. In comfortable silence we played the game with few conversations in between. The game relaxed my brain and sharpened my mind. It was a break from the bustle in my life and chaos in my soul. I loved the way he speaks, calm and suave with an easy smile.

I had started to go out again. Doctor Smith was impressed that I have taken a step closer to recovery. Ini had been persistent. She wanted me to attend that wedding we had to go to the market to get clothes for. She had bought more yards than she needed, for she had sewn a dress for me. As much as I wanted to tell her to go away because she was disrupting my quiet life, I was beginning to love her company.

I realised I have missed her during those days I created a distance between us. There was no one to make fun of or joke with. No one to share my problems with. Ini had always been a good listener. Sometimes, she does not come with the best advices but then she had always been there for me when I needed a friend. She strode into my room, threw the dress made from an expensive lace on the bed and told me to get into it. I had protested, told her I was going nowhere with her.

"You will attend that wedding whether you like it or not." She said just as strong headed as I was.

"See me see trouble o." I clapped my hands as I laughed with amusement. "I do not see why it is compulsory for me to attend that wedding. I literally do not know anyone in it."

"But you know me. You have me with you. Come on, Noor. Do not be a spoilsport." She whined, stomping her feet on the ground like a child. "My tailor had your measurement from last time. I told him to reduce everything by two inches since you have lost weight."

"Ini!" I cried out.

"Don't Ini me." She shushed me. "Today, we are going to that wedding and it is by force. You have to see life once again." That moment had me regretting why I had to allow her into my life again. Well, she's amazing though but she was beginning to invade my personal space. "I pray the dress will fit you perfectly. Oya, get up." She said, pulling me up. "Wear this." She threw the dress at me.

I wanted to argue but I knew how pointless it would be. The dress had not been perfect on me. It was loose. I grimaced when I stood in front of the mirror. My collar bones were prominent and neck was as long as a flamingo's. I really needed to start eating. This weight loss was drastic. I looked so bony, something I had barely noticed. And those dark circles, uneven and dull skin tone. What about to the natural glow I used to have?

Many people had loved my fair skin for it was even and being barely acne-prone, I had little to no hyperpigmentation on my skin. Some people had asked about my absent skincare routine. I do little to nothing to my skin. A friend once told me she envied it. What happened to the good skin? It's patchy, dry and rough. Stress can really affect you in many ways.